Jeju Island Kindergarten
"Oh no, what is this…! Why would Your Majesty deign to use such a shabby land palace—"
"Nah. I like it here."
"Ah…!"
Nemo pulled off an Udyr-tier stance switch and nodded with vigorous conviction.
"Looking again, it is an exceedingly cozy and splendid space! Truly, Your Majesty's modest dignity shines through every corner!"
"…."
Nemo peered around the room with open curiosity. The way she talked was a little unhinged, sure — but at least there wasn't a shred of malice in it.
"Anyway, this is the living room."
"Oh…."
"Just sit over there for now. That thing's called a sofa."
"Yes, understood."
Nemo sat obediently on the sofa.
…Or rather, she didn't. Instead of leaning back or relaxing in any way, she fixed me with bright, sparkling eyes like a golden retriever waiting for a command to drop at any second.
…This is kind of a lot.
Anyway, I'd taken Nemo on as a retainer.
So what exactly had changed?
Was I supposed to just keep fishing up pretty fish girls like this and build a real-life harem or something?
But the kind of harem I'd always dreamed of had sailed clean off the horizon the moment I turned into a girl.
Fwoosh—!
I opened my status window and checked for any new changes.
Still nothing but locked skills. Gaining a retainer hadn't unlocked a single thing.
"Hmm…."
I had a retainer now. Just no instruction manual.
But seriously… I feel like awakening didn't make me stronger. It made me weaker.
I picked up an empty beer can from the table — one of last night's casualties — and squeezed it hard with both hands.
"Nngh…!"
Crr… unch.
After a long, pathetic struggle, the can finally crumpled.
"Haa…."
"As expected of Your Majesty!"
Clap clap.
"To possess not only beauty but physical strength as well…!"
"…."
Wow. I'm screwed. That much effort just to crush a beer can? My grip strength probably doesn't even hit ten kilos.
Okay, Kim Hyunjoo. You are officially disqualified as a hunter.
But then I got curious. What could she do? With a grand title like "retainer," she couldn't just be a well-behaved tropical fish.
"Nemo."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
"What can you do?"
Nemo puffed out her chest as if she'd been waiting for this exact question.
"I oversee every coral reef that exists in the ocean!"
"…And that means what, exactly?"
"Hmm…."
Nemo thought for a moment, then answered with a sunny smile.
"Exactly what it sounds like!"
Okay. Glad I picked the second option after all.
Anyway, it probably meant she was extremely close with coral. Maybe she could even pull off something like a Coral Escape Technique — coral shooting up everywhere the way earth-style jutsu worked.
"Nemo, hang out and chill for a bit. Here, take this."
I grabbed the Nintendo Switch off the TV stand and handed it to her.
"This is…?"
"Okay, so this stick is for moving, and this button is jump. Got it?"
Nemo accepted the console with both hands, reverent as a sacred relic, and nodded with grave seriousness.
"Just master this until I call you again."
"Understood, Your Majesty!"
"You don't have to be that intense about it."
Click, click.
—Oh! Mamma mia! Ding! Ding!
Okay.
The oppressive gaze that had been glued to me was gone. Surprisingly, she picked up Super Mario fast. Before long Nemo was completely locked onto the screen, hammering the Joy-Cons with focused determination.
I naturally pulled out my phone.
Do I just keep living like this?
Or is there something specific I'm supposed to do?
"Seoul, huh…."
Getting to Seoul meant buying a plane ticket first. The problem was the airport.
Identity verification was mandatory during check-in. And right now, I looked nothing — not even a little — like the photo on my ID.
I've never even heard of a case like this….
What kind of absolute lunatic awakens once and turns into a TS shark girl? Security would snag me at the checkpoint and ship me straight to some government facility.
Then it'd be the secret lab, dissection table, and a full inspection of whether shark beastfolk have two uteruses or what—
Iron-bar ending for life….
Honestly the real reason was that going to Seoul sounded like a pain. Heh.
I couldn't see the commenter's face, but the pure testosterone pouring out of that tone was genuinely reassuring.
…Still.
I found myself looking out the window.
Beyond the horizon, a massive tower rose from the middle of the sea.
"…Guess becoming a hunter while living on Jeju Island is a pipe dream."
If you actually pulled it off, it was also the fastest path to making it big.
But that meant leaving for the mainland to operate. And if I left the tangerine orchard empty for more than three days, those psychotic tuna bastards would crawl up and trash the whole place for sure.
More than anything, though, there was a bigger reason hunters couldn't operate on Jeju Island.
Clearing a tower while enduring that insane water pressure was close to impossible in a human body.
Boing boing! Ding—!
Tiririri~ tiriri♪
Mario's stage-clear jingle rang out, and Nemo turned to look at me.
"Why are you so lost in thought, Your Majesty?"
She held up the console with a bright grin.
"This gift you bestowed upon me is tremendously fun! Shall we play together?"
"Uh, uh, no. Not really…."
I hesitated a moment, then pointed out the window.
"Hey. Look at that."
Beyond the glass, the Submerged Tower stood tall over the sea.
"I just… feel like something changed, but."
I glanced down at my drooping shark tail.
"It feels like things got worse than before. I'm a little bummed out…."
Nemo's eyes went round. She came straight over and carefully cupped the limp tip of my tail in her hands.
"You have not grown weaker."
A warm palm settled gently on top of my head.
"The land is merely suppressing Your Majesty's power. Should you return to the sea, you would be stronger than anyone."
"…Is that true?"
"Of course. You are the Queen, after all!"
I'd thought about pulling away, but strangely, I didn't mind the touch. My tail was the honest one — it was already wagging on its own.
Nemo looked toward the tower I'd pointed at. Then she carefully set the Nintendo down, closed her eyes, and focused as if sensing something.
"Hmm…."
A brief silence settled over the room.
About ten seconds later, Nemo slowly opened her eyes.
"You are referring to that place."
"…You know it?"
"Yes."
She nodded, still gazing at the tower.
"I sense the presence of the Leviathan race there."
"Leviathan…?"
"Combining that with rumors I've heard from fish that travel between coral colonies of late…."
Nemo narrowed her eyes slightly, as if organizing her thoughts.
"It appears the Leviathan faction has occupied a portion of that tower's underwater sector. It seems to be a facility for raising their young."
"…Hold on."
Leviathan. Just the name conjured images of terrifying sea monsters. And that place was where they raised their kids?
That's… a Leviathan Kindergarten?
I stared at the tower with my mouth hanging open, brain fully blue-screened. Then Nemo added something, as if she'd forgotten a detail.
"Ah, though that is entirely a subjective assessment, of course."
"Huh?"
"The Leviathans are the weakest faction in the ocean, after all."
"…What?"
Nemo continued as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"It is likely a facility prepared with the future in mind."
I looked at the tower again.
And even that is the weakest faction…?
"H-hey. Don't lie to me."
I pointed at the tower outside the window.
"That's the first tower in the world to rise from the ocean. The deep-sea water pressure applies inside as-is, so nobody's managed a proper clear yet."
"Hmm… I see."
Nemo thought for a moment, then nodded as if that made perfect sense.
"Well, humans still understand less than one percent of the ocean."
"…."
"I consider that a perfectly natural outcome for humankind!"
Humanity had just lost to Nemo. Casually. Effortlessly.
…Wait a second.
Nemo had called that tower a place occupied by a weak faction. The idea of fish monsters occupying a system-run tower was a little weird to begin with.
And that wasn't all. She'd known way too much about the ocean this whole time. Curiosity sparked.
"Then… Nemo, could you—"
My drooping shark tail had already perked back up into place.
"Hey… could you enter the first floor?"
"It is possible. The first floor, I could clear without issue."
Nemo answered without a hint of hesitation.
"…For real?!"
"Yes. Wiping out the entire Leviathan clan by myself would be difficult, but I believe I could at least deal them a considerable blow."
"…A blow?"
"Yes."
Nemo turned toward me and clenched a fist with spirited resolve.
"But with Your Majesty's wisdom at my side, a total wipeout would be more than achievable!"
"…."
She was way too confident. And somehow, it didn't feel like a lie.
The vibe alone sold it. Those clear, shining eyes were pure deranged-innocent energy.
"If the reason for Your Majesty's brooding happens to be that tower…."
Nemo asked with a smile.
"Shall we go regulate their population right now?"
"Uh, uh…."
Honestly, I wasn't sure this was the right call. I could die.
I still had money to save up, and a decent list of things I wanted to try.
But when I actually thought about dying, I wasn't nearly as scared as I should have been.
A dream I'd given up on as a kid was sitting right in front of me. Even if chasing it might kill me.
…So my choice was—
Following a friend to Gangnam.
"Yeah."
Let's go check it out!
…I had a place to come back to, anyway.